"But this is made in China ... "

The tutu next to me in the store wavers, painted wooden toy in hand.

Meanwhile, at the checkout counter, a cashier downplays the woman's concerns.

"When I was growing up, our entire house had lead-based paint. Today's exposure is nothing in comparison."

However, with our youngest at the age where he indiscriminately mouths everything, my husband and I remain wary. Our children's play area is still missing one of the most classic toys, a set of wooden blocks. Those we received as a gift were recalled, and U.S.-manufactured sets are more than triple the price of blocks made in China, so we await better options.

Call me a paranoid new mom, but besides lead exposure, these days there are a host of other environmental concerns that worry me. Small parts — or, as one safety instructor told us, anything that fits inside a toilet paper roll — can be a choking hazard.

However, when I read in the news about serious twists, such as the child who was hospitalized after swallowing magnets, I automatically wonder if the same thing could happen to my kids. I took a closer look at the toys we own after learning that one leading American manufacturer recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made products last year.

Accidents mean that more of the toys I see on the shelves are flagged "Ages 3 and up." Toy manufacturers (just like those in the food industry with their ubiquitous "made in a facility that processes food X" labels) are increasingly cautious. One potentially undersized piece and the toy gets the stamp.

What alarms me most, however, are the unseen dangers.

Take bisphenol A, a synthetic chemical found in canned food, plastic containers and other common household items. Though controversy continues over exactly how much exposure is harmful, it disturbs me that formula-can linings and certain baby bottles contain a known hormone disruptor.

Many of my friends have switched their keiki's drinking vessels to bisphenol-A-free bottles or stainless-steel sippy cups, and a return to glass bottles may not be far behind.

Before I pine too much for days gone by, however, I admit that environmental contaminants have been around for most of history, and the human race has survived. My dad recalls, as a kid, rubbing mercury into nickels with his bare hands to make the coins gleam,

"We had no idea it was poisonous," says Dad, now 69.

While today's environment remains fraught with potential dangers, the good news for hypervigilant parents like me is that safer alternatives are now available for many products. For example, there are environmentally friendly, nontoxic lines of household cleaning agents. Organic is all the rage, with organic grocery store lines and even organic clothing. The bisphenol A scare caused a plethora of safer drinking products to flood the market. And hopefully by now, any toy manufacturer would think twice about using leaded paint.

For me as a parent, it is a delicate balance between being alarmed about known and unknown environmental hazards, and accepting that life has its risks.

Maybe it is about time for our family to purchase a set of classic wooden blocks, even if they are made overseas. However, we may also buy a lead testing kit, just in case.

Monica Quock Chan is a freelance writer who lives in Honolulu with her husband and children.